Choose the right mattress for your back pain.
Mattresses can play a huge part in your back pain problem. “What is the best mattress choice for back pain?” is a question health care professionals are asked frequently. It is understandable that with the vast variety of mattresses, diversity of diagnoses and no “one fits all” solution, choosing the right mattress can be difficult.
Good, high quality mattress should definitely meet following standards:
- It should reinforce good sleeping posture, help muscles relax, provide support for natural curves and helps keep spine in alignment to prevent morning stiffness and soreness. While there is not much clinical data about mattresses, one study found that medium-firm mattresses usually provide more back pain relief than firm mattresses.
- It should provide both support and comfort in order to reduce low back pain and allow for good rest. Supportive structures of the mattresses are coils and inner springs. Foam top or padding is influencing comfort and it should be soft. Different mattresses vary in their number and arrangement of coils, as well as thickness and depth of padding. Choosing the number of coils, type of padding and mattress depth should be determined by individual preferences. However, generally higher density of coils and medium to firm support is better for back pain. To test firmness of the mattress, sit on the edge. A good mattress should support your weight and should never collapse when you sit on the edge of it.
A Consumer Report shows what mattresses people found most comfortable. There were several different factors that played into effect for people’s choices of great mattresses. A common trend across the report seemed to be memory foam mattresses, most people found a lot of comfort with those. You can read the report here: http://www.bestmattress-brand.org/10-best-mattresses-of-2016-and-10-worst-rated-beds-avoid/
What is the best mattress choice for my low back pain?
You have to keep in mind that there is no “one fits all” mattress choice for low back pain. This is mostly related to personal preferences, body types and diversity of back pain causes. Therefore, if you have low back pain you should test bunch of them and pick one that meets you comfort and support standards and allows you to get a good night’s sleep. Interestingly enough, back pain diagnosis and root cause of your pain also determines mattress choice as well as sleeping position. Contrary to disk patients who feel much better sleeping face down, osteoarthritic and stenosis patents feel better in side sleeping position.
In conclusion, some general guidelines in mattress shopping are:
- Go with medium-firm and comfortable.
- Buy new, replace often. Change your mattress in case it is worn out.
- Keep in mind that you spend more time sleeping then driving your car therefore, therefore do not go frugal when purchasing mattress.
- Pick what feels comfortable to you. Try bunch and pick what feels right. Any mattress that helps you sleep without pain and stiffness is your best bet.
